“ARE YOU REALLY THE CHRIST?”
LUKE 7:18-23

I. Introduction
Are you a Christian? If you have come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you will instantly say, “Yes, I am!” Do you believe everything Jesus has said about Himself in the Scriptures? Again you say, “Yes.” Right now, at this moment, are you as sure of heaven as if you were already there? Some of you will hesitate for a moment and then say, “Yes…I believe that.” Do you believe every promise Jesus made to us – no exceptions? By now your mind may be racing around trying to recall something from the Bible that you’ve always questioned. But you say, “Yes…I think so.”

Then imagine that the Jesus you know does something you don’t expect Him to do. Or what if He doesn’t do something you think He should do, or desperately hope He will? Or what if He does do something you don’t want Him to do? What if He seems to ignore your fervent prayers for the physical healing or the salvation of a loved one? What if He takes your spouse or a child or a grandchild? How is your faith then?

Now imagine that you have come to the lowest point of your life. Although you have done your best and given your all, you are now at the point where all hope is lost. You are about to be martyred for your faith. All you have left is your faith, and at this very moment, when you need your faith more than you ever have, it wavers.

You believe in God. There’s no question about that. But you begin to have some second thoughts about Jesus. You begin to wonder, “What if I’ve been wrong? What if my faith has been misplaced? What if it isn’t true? What if I have put my hope for eternity in the wrong place?” What if Jesus isn’t the Messiah, the Christ? What if my Lord and Savior is neither Lord nor Savior?

If any of you can relate to any of that, I think you can begin to get some idea of how John the Baptist felt as he languished in Herod’s prison awaiting his execution.

That’s the subject of this morning’s sermon. We will see John, this great man of God, have doubts about Jesus. We will hear his question. We will hear Jesus answer it. And I believe that we will come to see and understand that John went to his death convinced beyond any doubt that Jesus is the Expected One, the Lord, the Messiah, the Christ, and that He is the Savior of all who will trust Him and Him alone for their eternal salvation.
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II. Review
In the last two weeks we have looked at two of Jesus’ many miracles. First we saw Him heal the young servant of a Roman centurion who was so convinced that Jesus was who He said He was, that he knew Jesus didn’t even need to be present to heal the boy. The centurion knew that if Jesus would just, “…say the word,” his servant would be healed.
Jesus marveled at the faith of this Gentile officer and said to the crowds who witnessed it, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith (Luke 7:9).”

Then last week we saw Jesus raise a young man from the dead outside the gates of the city of Nain. That was the first of three bodily resurrections reported in the gospels. The other two were the raising of a little girl, and of Jesus’ friend Lazarus. The timing of Jesus’ arrival at Nain was perfect. God ordained it so that He arrived just as the funeral procession was making its way to the burial ground. There was a multitude of witnesses.

News of these spectacular miracles was spreading all over Israel. John the Baptist even heard about them in prison.
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III. Text
How would the word of what Jesus was doing have reached John in prison? The prison where he was confined was part of Herod’s Summer Palace east of the Dead Sea in what is now Jordanian territory. It was about forty miles southeast of Jerusalem and at least ninety miles from where Jesus was ministering at the time. As brutal as the conditions in this prison were, John was permitted to receive visitors. That sets the stage for our text.
*Luke 7:18-23 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
18 And the disciples of John reported to him about all these things.
19 And summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”
20 And when the men had come to (Jesus), they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for some-one else?’”
21 At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He granted sight to many who were blind.
22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, (and) the poor have the gospel preached to them.
23 “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.”

Who is John the Baptist? We meet him in the NT but he really is an OT character. He functions as the last OT prophet. He’s the last one to prophesy Jesus’ coming. The very first prophecy of the coming Messiah was made all the way back in Genesis. God had promised Adam and Eve that Satan, the fallen angel who had deceived them, would be destroyed by the Person and Work of the “Expected One.”
*Genesis 3:14-15
14 And the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” (explain enmity and bruising – severe vs. mortal)

Between that prophecy and the coming of John, the OT contains at least thirty-nine other pointed prophecies about the coming Messiah, the “Expected One.” Not only that, there are no less there than thirty-four very specific details about Jesus’ death itself, and the events immediately before and after His crucifixion. Half of those are found in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. John uttered the last prophecy of the Messiah’s coming by identifying Jesus when the Lord came to the Jordan River to be baptized.
John 1:29a-30
29a “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

Later, when it became clear that John’s work was finished, he said…
John 3:30
30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

So John is the one who bridges the gap between the testaments. He has faithfully done the work and spoken the words of a prophet of God. He has called sin what it is – sin. He has predicted the coming of the “Expected One,” and has personally introduced Jesus to the nation of Israel. In all of this he has been faithful, diligent, and obedient. He has told the truth, but as we know all too well, the world doesn’t want to hear the truth.

And so John is in prison. He is already fading from the scene. Jesus is increasing and John is decreasing, just as he had prophesied.
*Luke 7:18-20
18 And the disciples of John reported to him about all these things.
19 And summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”
20 And when the men had come to (Jesus), they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for some-one else?’”

By this time John may have been in prison for a year or more. His crime? He had pub-licly rebuked Herod for committing adultery with his brother’s wife, Herodias. Since he has been imprisoned some of his disciples have begun to follow Jesus. John’s depress-sion and discouragement shouldn’t be a surprise. The conditions in Herod’s prisons were horrible. So this great man of God begins to question, and doubt creeps into his mind.

You can imagine some of the thoughts that begin to plague him. “Have I misunderstood God? What if Jesus isn’t the Expected One? And if He is, why won’t He set me free?”
Do you see? This is not a man who is about to reject everything he believes.
This is not a man who is about to turn his back on his faith. John is not losing his faith in God. This is a faithful man of God who is fearful that he has completely misunderstood God’s truth. This is a faithful man of God facing the possibility that, although he has not ceased to preach God’s truth, he may have applied it to the wrong man.

John thinks, “I believe in God, I’m just not sure that Jesus is God in human flesh.” Have you ever been there? Is that something you may be struggling with even now? That’s exactly where I found myself in the early morning hours of January 9, 1973. I had spent the evening with two business associates in Chicago. They had been witnessing to me for a few months and the Holy Spirit was beginning to convict me of the truth of Jesus. But I had resisted it. I believed in God. But I just wasn’t sure about Jesus.

It was late as I drove home from the city. Some time after midnight I remember crying out to God. “If all of this about Jesus is true I need to know it. Is Jesus Christ Your Son?” Now let me be very clear. I did not hear an answer with my ears, but God most definitely answered me. There was no audible, “Yes,” but there might as well have been. Instantly I knew! I trusted Christ and He began to change me. I had believed in God but I wasn’t sure about Jesus. That’s where John the Baptist finds himself here in Luke 7.

It isn’t difficult to see why John is confused and why he has doubts. He knows that the words he has preached and the prophecies he has made are accurate. When John was born his father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied about the boy.
*Luke 1:76-77 (Zacharias speaking)
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the LORD to prepare His ways;
77 to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins…”

John knew this to be true. He knew he was a prophet of God. He knew his prophecies were accurate. So it followed that he must have been saying the right things about the wrong man. John believed that Jesus had come to punish sinners and destroy sin.

He was looking for the “Expected One” to free Israel from captivity, to establish God’s kingdom here on earth, and to take His seat on the throne of David. This is precisely what the other OT prophets believed. But that wasn’t happening. Was John wrong about that? No, he wasn’t. But he was wrong about the timing of it.

One thing the OT prophets hadn’t seen was the “Church Age.” They were expecting the Messianic Kingdom. We expect it too, but today most Christians call it the Millennial Kingdom or the Millennium. The Jews of the first century did not understand that Jesus would come twice, the first time as the meek and mild Lamb of God to be led to the slaughter. To be sure, all that they believed about the Messiah coming to punish sinners and destroy sin would in fact take place.
However, it would take place at the Second Coming, not at the first. The Prophet Isaiah speaks to both the first and second advents of our Lord in three fascinating verses. Look at them with me. It will help you to understand John’s confusion.
*Isaiah 61:1-3 (the pre-incarnate Christ speaking of His coming to earth)
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

John did not see the present and the future in their proper perspective. Keep a marker here in Isaiah and go back to Luke. We’re going to look at the passage where Jesus announces His ministry in the synagogue in Nazareth. He reads from Isaiah 61.
*Luke 4:18-20a
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden,
19 to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD.”
20a And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down…

Now look again at Isaiah 61. Do you see what Jesus did? He stopped reading from Isaiah in the middle of v. 2. Jesus said He had come to proclaim God’s favor, i.e. to preach the good news, the gospel. But then He stopped reading. He did not read further because He had not come to bring vengeance. He will bring that at the Second Coming.

This is why the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Colossae, says, “…the wrath of God will come…(3:6b).” It has not yet come. Jesus brought neither vengeance nor wrath at His First Advent, but He will bring both at the second. That’s what Revelation 19-20 are about. (Second Coming, Armageddon, Antichrist destroyed, Satan bound, sin judged, the lake of fire) Again, John is right about God and His truth, but he does not see God’s timetable.

You can readily see why such misunderstandings of God’s truths can cause the faithful to waver in their faith, can’t you? Which one of us has not found himself in John’s sandals at one time or another? How much stress, anxiety, and even fear have you had to deal with in your own life simply because you didn’t understand some basic or fundamental truth of God and His Word? Why put yourself through that?

John had some “excuse” for not understanding God’s plan. After all, he didn’t have all of God’s revelation. The NT had not yet been written.
But you and I don’t have that excuse. God has revealed everything He intends for us to know in this life. It’s all found right here between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21. Isn’t that a great reason to study the Bible? Don’t you want to know as much about your Lord and Savior as possible? Now go back to Isaiah 61 and look at v. 2 again.
*Isaiah 61:2
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, [“The Church Age”] and the day of vengeance of our God…

The “Church Age,” the day in which we now live, is hiding from John right there in plain sight. It’s in the middle of the verse. It’s there between the proclamation of “…the favorable year of the Lord…” and, “…the day of vengeance of our God.” The former speaks only of the First Coming, while the latter speaks only of the Second Coming.

Why didn’t God reveal that to John or to the other OT prophets? They weren’t called to preach to the “Church Age.” They were called to prophesy the coming of the “Expected One” to the nation of Israel – what you and I now know as the First Advent. Then the work of the prophets was done and God took them home before the birth of the church. He would raise up others to take the good news of God’s favor to the Gentiles.

So it’s easy to see why John was confused and depressed – especially when you consider what Isaiah had said about the “Expected One.”
*Isaiah 61:1
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to prisoners;

Do you suppose John expected to be released from prison? I’m sure he did. Yet month after month went by and Jesus was out there seemingly ignoring him. I know that there are times when you feel like Jesus is ignoring you and doesn’t care about your situation, your struggles, your pains, or your fears. But that just is not the case. You and your eter-nal well-being are so important to Him that He was willing to lay down His life for you.

I believe that in those times when it seems as if the Lord has moved away from us it’s because you and I have put something else in His place. Often that something else is our own personal pride and it keeps us from basking the warmth of His presence.
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.

The problem is that you can’t cast your anxiety on Jesus if you are not close to Him, or if you are pridefully ignoring Him. Someone has said, “If you aren’t as close to Jesus as you used to be, guess who moved.” Now I’m not suggesting that John the Baptist had that problem.
Doubts and fears in and of themselves are certainly not indications of personal pride. However, I am suggesting that our own depression and discouragement sometimes clouds our understanding of God’s plan for us. And sometimes, when we do understand it, we are too prideful to accept it.

In John’s case, even though 1 Peter 5:7 (“…casting all your anxiety upon Jesus…”) had not yet been written, he knew what to do. He needed his questions answered so He went to Jesus. Well, he sent two of his own disciples to Jesus. In doing so John was guided by a principle that was already laid down in God’s Word.
Deuteronomy 19:15
15 “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”

Jesus referred to that principle in the gospels.
Matthew 18:16b
16b “…by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.”

And so, in Luke 7:19-20, two of John’s disciples put the question to Jesus: “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” Do you suppose the question shocked Jesus? I mean, here is the last great prophet of God asking if Jesus is the Messiah. Do you suppose Jesus was angered by the question and sent a message of rebuke back to John for his lack of faith? The answer to both questions is, “No, absolutely not.” Listen, God can handle our questions and our doubts.

Let me say it again. John’s problem is not a lack of faith in God or in His Word. John’s problem is much like yours and mine. He doesn’t see the big picture. He doesn’t have the full knowledge of God’s sovereign plan. He believes everything he knows. He just doesn’t know everything. In this John is just like us.

To be sure, you and I have an advantage over John. Since John’s home-going the entire NT has been written. We know about both the First and Second Comings. We have the words of the apostles, we have two thousand years of human history and the salvation of multiplied millions of souls to witness to what we know and believe. But with all that, you and I still have questions and doubts. The faith of true Christians never breaks, but it sure can bend at times, can’t it?

How does Jesus respond to John? He responds in mercy, in kindness, in love, and in compassion. He knows that John has never heard Him say that He is the Messiah, the “Expected One.” He knows that John has not personally witnessed any of the miracles. And Jesus knows that John needs to be comforted.
*Luke 7:21-22
21 At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He granted sight to many who were blind.
22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, (and) the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Once again we see that God’s timing is perfect. When John’s disciples come to Jesus He is in the midst of a massive display of His miraculous power. People are being healed of all sorts of sicknesses and diseases, many demons are being cast out, and many who are blind are receiving their sight. This in itself speaks of Jesus’ compassion for John.

Let me explain what I mean by that. In the gospels the Pharisees wanted to see Jesus do “tricks” for them. But He would not because He knew their hearts.
Matthew 12:38-40
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees (said), “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

God doesn’t do “tricks” for unbelievers. But He does do miracles for those who believe in Him. John needed his faith strengthened. He needed it anchored in solid rock. And in Luke 7:21 the miracles pour forth. John’s friends see them all and have their answer. In v. 22 Jesus tells them to go back to John and give him this answer to his question: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, (and) the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

With that John will remember another OT prophecy about the “Expected One.”
Isaiah 35:5-6a
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6a Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy…

It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, “Of course I am the ‘Expected One’ John. Just consider what you already know about Me. Consider the testimony of those who have witnessed everything that I have said and done…and believe.”
*Luke 7:23
23 “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.”

Jesus’ final words to John imply no threat of punishment, no anger, no frustration, and no rebuke. He treats John and his doubts with tenderness and compassion.
This last verse has been a source of some confusion. The major translations say it some-what differently.
• KJV – “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
• NKJV – “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
• NASB – “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.”
• NASB (updated) – “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
• ESV – “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
• NIV – “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

Which is it? Is it offended, stumbling over, or falling away? In this case the NIV seems to get closest to the original meaning. In Greek, the trigger on an animal trap whereupon the bait is placed is called a “scandalŏn.” We get the word “scandal” from it. The word used in Luke 7:23 is “skandalizō,” a variation of “scandalŏn.” It means to trip someone up, to cause them to stumble and fall, or to entice someone to their ruin.

So let me paraphrase Jesus final word to John. It would be something like this…
“John, there is no end of things in this world to entice you, to cause you to stumble and fall, to lure you to ruin, or to trap you in a snare from which you cannot extricate your-self. But I am not one of them. If you believe in Me you will not be offended, you will not stumble, and you will not fall away. On the contrary, John, you will be blessed.”
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IV. Conclusion
We are not immune to doubt. Just like John the Baptist we often struggle with the same question. “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” John was a man of God if there ever was one, but he needed reassurance. Do you? When John was plagued with doubt he went to Jesus for the answer. Do you? It’s a lesson for us.

Please don’t think that the so-called “super saints” never doubt. They do. Listen, if hea-ven is reserved only for those who never questioned or doubted no one will ever get in. If you have doubts, express them. Then…
Hebrews 12:2
2 (fix your) eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter (or finisher) of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do you still doubt? Do you still sometimes ask, “Are You really the ‘Expected One?’ Are You really the Christ? Are You really?” If you do, then take Jesus’ words with you. “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed are all who do not stumble or fall away because of Me.”

~ Pray